For our MIPCOM 2025 issue, Episode went behind the scenes of Reborn and sat down with Deniz Çakır to hear her thoughts on the pains, hopes, conflicts, and transformations of his character Hülya.
Hülya is caught between being a mother and chasing her ambitions, and at times she even becomes a burden on her own children. How do you see this conflicted mother figure?
Deniz Çakır: Actually, Hülya is also a heavy burden on herself. She became a mother at a very young age, with a baby suffering from heart disease, and there was no father in the picture. Since she never really had the chance to live her own youth or childhood, motherhood came too early and was an exhausting process for her. What may look like selfish behavior today is actually rooted in a kind of “delayed struggle to live.” As she approaches her forties, she feels the panic of having missed out as a woman and wants to catch what she sees as life’s “last exit before the bridge.” In that sense, she seems to have “retired early” from motherhood. Yes, she has selfish sides, but at the same time, it’s also a very human cry for life.
Should Hülya evoke empathy or anger in the audience?
Deniz Çakır: I think first anger, then sympathy, and finally empathy. At first glance, her actions can make you say “no way,” but once I started playing her, I found Hülya very human. Yes, she can be selfish and harsh, but there’s also something very childlike about her. In fact, in some ways, she’s more of a child than her three kids. That’s why I believe the audience will eventually empathize with her.
Deniz Çakır: I think everyone is both a culprit and a victim. No one becomes a culprit out of nowhere; there’s usually a story of victimhood behind it. The same goes for Hülya. At first glance, she may look like the guilty one, but when you dig into her story, you see how much of a victim she really is. Being left alone with a sick baby at 19 and trying to make a living is a huge tragedy. As an actress, I approach my roles like a defense attorney, and I see Hülya in this way too: as much a victim, if not more so, than a culprit.
The story says “a heart brought two families together.” But is that union a blessing or a curse?
Deniz Çakır: For now, it feels like a hope for salvation. Maybe she dreams of saving herself through the security of a wealthy family, but I think this journey will turn into a confrontation for her. In the beginning, she may want to free herself of the burden, but she will come to realize how precious motherhood actually is. At first, she may see it as “a financial escape,” but having to share her daughter with another mother’s affection will trigger entirely different emotions in her. At that point, the story takes on a duality, being both a blessing and a punishment.
At first glance, Hülya may look like the guilty one, but when you dig into her story, you see how much of a victim she really is. Being left alone with a sick baby at 19 and trying to make a living is a huge tragedy.
In the series, family is shown as a web of blood ties, secrets, regrets, and expectations. Within this web, when does Hülya feel like a victim, and when does she feel like the one at fault?
How far can Hülya go to protect her loved ones? And in the end, who is she most willing to sacrifice: others, or herself?
Deniz Çakır: To be realistic, others first… Because she believes she has already sacrificed enough of herself. But if you look at it from a more philosophical side, anyone who sacrifices another is also sacrificing something within themselves. Hülya’s story is built precisely on this dilemma.
